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Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is often times viewed as one of the most complex but popular poker games. It’s a variation that, even more than normal Omaha poker, invites play from all levels of players. This is the main reason why a once obscure game, has grown in popularity so rapidly.

Omaha 8 or better starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. Four cards are given out to every player. A sequence of betting follows where gamblers can wager, check, or drop out. Three cards are given out, this is called the flop. A further round of betting ensues. After all the players have in turn called or folded, another card is revealed on the turn. a further round of betting follows and then the river card is revealed. The players will have to put together the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.

This is the point where a number of players can get flustered. Contrasted to Holdem, where the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi-low the player must utilize precisely three cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. Not a single card more, no less. Unlike normal Omaha, there are 2 ways a pot may be won: the "high hand" or the "low hand."

A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the best hand out of every player’s, it doesn’t matter if it is a straight, flush, full house, etc. It’s the very same concept in nearly all poker games.

The lower hand is more complicated, but certainly opens up the action. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. A low hand is the weakest hand that might be put together, with the lowest being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Seeing as straights and flushes do not count, A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest possible hand. The lower hand is any 5 card hand (unpaired) with an 8 and smaller. The low hand wins half of the pot, as just like the higher hand. When there’s no lower hand available, the high hand wins the entire pot.

Although it seems difficult at first, following a couple of rounds you will be agile enough to pick up on the basic subtleties of play easily enough. Seeing as you have individuals betting for the low and wagering for the high, and since so many cards are in play, Omaha 8 or better offers an exciting range of wagering possibilities and seeing that you have numerous individuals trying for the high, as well as a few battling for the low. If you prefer a game with a lot of outs and actions, it’s not a waste of your time to compete in Omaha hi low.